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Dummies guide to Spearfishing - Part I

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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I would never attach the gun to my body, if you plan to shoot fish big enough to pull you under then use a float attachment.
Your gun should float on its own accord without the spear in place so using a reel & lots of backing is pretty safe.
 
I have heard of spearos attaching a reel to their belt - it's unusual but I guess that at least gives an option of releasing the belt & reel if things "start to go wrong" - provided they don't get in the way of each other & tangle, which seems a strong possibility.

But why take that risk. As Foxfish said use a float. I would suggest that you attach your speargun to a float using a float-line (maybe 50-60ft if you plan to dive 30 ft? - I use about 12-15m but only rarely dive to 30ft) - simple, no need for a reel; that's what I do. That way if a fish drags and you let go, the fish and speargun are still attached to the float - which you can choose to hold onto or not, as you please. Other configurations are possible though (e.g. breakaway rigs, multi-float rigs for big fish).

One observation: although most spearguns float with the spear out, they often don't have a lot of buoyancy - so can end up floating mid-water or just under the surface. Also, they often don't float with the spear in. (Shiny spears are easier to find in weed ).
 

An interesting moment last week : I had been out off the headland in my wetsuit with my brother in law, we then came in to wives and kids in the rockpools. I had my camo wetsuit on. As we stood in the pool I had a load of the small fish circling around my legs, and I mean a LOT. The bare legs had no fish near them.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
So camo is a "fish magnetic" - excellent .
 
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Have to point out, it was only legs, unsure how they'd react to en entire body!!
 
I am a scuba diver that is starting to spearfish some and would like to know the pros and cons on spearfishing stringer types. I have seen the ones made out of stainless and are a large metal loop and the ones out of wire with a metal spike on one end and a loop on the other. What are the reasons for the preferences?
 
Maybe a lot to do with personal preference, some folk shoot a fish then kill it with their knife & then thread it onto a fish ring. Others (like myself) prefer to kill the fish with the stringer spike through the head & thread it on in one operation.
Of course this choose is largely dependant on the size & type of fish too!
 
Re. stringers, I really like and recommend the Rob Allen cable stringers, which you attach to your float. The spike is extra long, strong & very sharp - an excellent spike for dispatching fish - and a thick, shiny plastic coated metal cable - very strong. They also have a robust swivel at the float end. But I think they would be better if they included a good quality clip (e.g. RA Orcas clip), I've fitted a key ring to the end (the swivel's loop is rather small, probably designed for big game angling) and the use an old anodized Clogg Wales climbing caribiner (which are rated for 2200kg - should be enough! ).

I sometimes use an Omer belt stringer too. I would recommend that beginners don't use these for various safety reasons. However, they can be convenient and strung fish really do arouse the curiosity of other fish & provide some camouflage/distraction. The belt stringer is made of stiff, heavy duty monofilament, which importantly can easily be cut in an emergency. The spike on the Omer stringer is by necessity rather short and not as sharp as the RA string, although it can be used to dispatch speared fish; I prefer to use my inexpensive but excellent Omersub American Mini-Laser spearo dagger (or a homemade iki-jimi spike) when using the belt stringer, it is designed for dispatching fish & works very well.
 
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Hi guys, new to spearing and to the forums, and had a couple of questions.

I've been using a hand spear on and off of a few months now and loving it, so recently I purchased a 95cm Picasso Cobra BW Camo (got an awesome bargain!) However as luck would have it the weather has been crap and I haven't had a chance to use it yet!

One major concern I had was that the spear is only attached to the gun with 1.8mm mono-filament of about 2m in length, giving me a max range of about 3m inc the spear. But the gun has a 19mm rubber. I was thinking that this is quite short for the power it will likely produce, or am I completely missing something here? I have the gun attached to a float line but no reel obviously.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
3m of running line would be better, most 90s come with two wraps of line under the barrel & one length that runs down the spear on top of the barrel.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
cheers bud, am new to spearfishing so good to get a list of stuff that i need to buy to get me started.....
 
Shimmer,Shine,Shape,Silhouette,Shade and Shimmer was what i was taught in the military and now i am planning on spear fishing I am going to use those in the sea.
 
Best to start a new thread for such questions
 
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